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Sand Runner #3
Ghost Runner
For fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Maze Runner comes the third installment in the passionate and action-packed Sand Runner series... GHOST RUNNER.
Kai and Emily are reunited, but their fight is far from over - and so is their search for answers. As the dangers mount and the stakes continue to rise, they will both confront their greatest fears and discover new things about themselves in the process.
Can they face their enemies and keep each other alive, and still stay true to themselves? What if some of the enemies are ghosts from their own past?
Read GHOST RUNNER to find out.
Kai and Emily are reunited, but their fight is far from over - and so is their search for answers. As the dangers mount and the stakes continue to rise, they will both confront their greatest fears and discover new things about themselves in the process.
Can they face their enemies and keep each other alive, and still stay true to themselves? What if some of the enemies are ghosts from their own past?
Read GHOST RUNNER to find out.
287 pages, Paperback
Published April 3, 2020
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Vera Brook
18 books143 followersVera Brook is a neuroscientist turned science fiction, fantasy, and romance writer. Her short fiction has appeared in Analog SF, Cast of Wonders, Factor Four Magazine, and Utopia SF, among other places. She is also the author of the Sand Runner Series (dystopian SF) and the Ever After Series (contemporary romance). Vera is a bookworm, and perpetually torn between reading books and writing them.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 16, 2020
I just can’t.........
I mean come on.......
I need the next book now. I’m absolutely obsessed with this series and couldn’t believe I was able to get an early copy of it. First, you need to admire this beauty of a cover. It is breathtaking. I noticed the whole series got updated covers and I really dig them. They are eye catching. Ok to the story. Kai, Emily, Xander are all back and better than ever. I felt like I got a deeper look at Emily. I feel like I understand her and her decisions a little more. I was always a little standoffish towards her with this new installment she has become one of my favorites. Kai will always have my heart. That boy can do no wrong in my eyes. His heart is ginormous. I need to talk about Slayer for a minute because he is the stand out star of this series. Every great hero (Kai) needs a great villain (Slayer). He is a well balanced villain. He is a perfect psychopath. I just love it. I always appreciate a great villain. The story is fast paced and extremely difficult to put down. It has some twists and turns that might leave you with whiplash. It flows naturally with the previous books and I adore the different point of views. The only critique I have is I want more right now. If I could give it 100 stars I would.
I mean come on.......
I need the next book now. I’m absolutely obsessed with this series and couldn’t believe I was able to get an early copy of it. First, you need to admire this beauty of a cover. It is breathtaking. I noticed the whole series got updated covers and I really dig them. They are eye catching. Ok to the story. Kai, Emily, Xander are all back and better than ever. I felt like I got a deeper look at Emily. I feel like I understand her and her decisions a little more. I was always a little standoffish towards her with this new installment she has become one of my favorites. Kai will always have my heart. That boy can do no wrong in my eyes. His heart is ginormous. I need to talk about Slayer for a minute because he is the stand out star of this series. Every great hero (Kai) needs a great villain (Slayer). He is a well balanced villain. He is a perfect psychopath. I just love it. I always appreciate a great villain. The story is fast paced and extremely difficult to put down. It has some twists and turns that might leave you with whiplash. It flows naturally with the previous books and I adore the different point of views. The only critique I have is I want more right now. If I could give it 100 stars I would.
August 14, 2020
Brook combines a strong grasp of human behaviour with an imaginative technodystopia, creating a cyberpunk thriller that has both style and substance.
This is the third volume in the Sand Runner series. Possible spoilers for previous volumes ahead.
Reunited with Emily, the woman he loves, Kai is determined to keep her safe: but doing that requires cooperating with her ex-boyfriend, a man who clearly wants her back. With a massive bounty on her head for a murder she didn’t commit, Emily should hide out: instead, she strives to save those held hostage by cybernetic hearts that can be remotely turned off. Her heart replaced with cutting edge technology for free, Leah is grateful to the corporation: however, a chance encounter suggests not all their research subjects may be as well treated.
Rather than focus strongly on high-risk racing again, Brook devotes much of the book to the world around it. While this definitely avoids both the risks of sameness and rampant threat escalation that can plague series with a single defining feature, readers hoping for dramatic cybersport action might be disappointed.
However, this novel firmly remains as the border between human and cutting-edge technology that underlay the cybersports of the previous volumes. While it does display the flashy upgrades and flying cars of classic cyberpunk, the core of this book are Brook’s theories of how humans are likely to react to new technologies and in general; while rarely—if ever—overt, these provide consistency to both events and future innovations that will enhance realism even for those readers seeking cyberpunk action rather than deeper social commentary.
And this book is not lacking in action. Even those viewpoint characters who do not start the book on the run or otherwise in danger swiftly encounter risky choices that their characters will not let them ignore.
With the action taking place from the viewpoints of the poor or marginalised, this volume takes the reader deeper into the grimy underbelly of Brook’s future dystopia. Those scenes that do occur in the polished corporate world provide a contrast, casting the rest of the world in darker shade, yet possess a brittleness that leaves them feeling just as grimy beneath the opulent cleanliness.
The ongoing romance plot between Kai and Emily centres around the classic conflict between allowing one’s beloved agency and wanting them to be safe: thus, while Kai agrees with Emily that stopping people being held to ransom by their cyberhearts is a good goal, there is constant friction over whether she should be the one to do it. Brook ramps this up by having the man helping the two of them hide from the authorities be Emily’s ex, leading to both misunderstandings and misrepresentation of Kai’s actions.
In parallel, Leah develops feelings for someone who avoids her in order to keep her safe. As well as adding character and complexity to Leah’s arc, this semi-mirrors Kai and Emily’s dilemma, providing a new perspective on the underlying question and thus removing the sense that there is a single right answer that either couple is failing to see.
While the immediate issues facing the protagonists are resolved by the end, major arcs left over from previous volumes remain. As such, the end of this novel has a noticeable feel of being partway through a series.
Kai remains a sympathetic protagonist, driven by good intentions but imperfect enough that he sometimes reacts poorly due to emotion or lack of understanding. Emily is similarly neither a saint, a monster, nor an unmitigated fool.
Leah provides an equally sympathetic yet rather different perspective. With cyberware granting her, literally, a life, her arc highlights the good that advanced technologies can do and suggests that—while extortion is wrong—gratitude of some kind is due. While some readers might find the speed at which Leah falls in love overly quick, others will find it not utterly implausible for someone devouring life after years of being barely able to leave her bed.
Lee, the fourth viewpoint, is a reporter who was fired for his part in the events of the previous volume. Although Brook does provide an engaging personal arc around seeking meaning and stability, some readers might feel—appropriately enough for a journalist—that many of his scenes provide context to the stories of the others more than advancing his own.
The supporting cast are realistically complex, displaying conflicting drives and unclear motivations.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking fast-paced yet thoughtful cyberpunk that does not rely on hacking.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
This is the third volume in the Sand Runner series. Possible spoilers for previous volumes ahead.
Reunited with Emily, the woman he loves, Kai is determined to keep her safe: but doing that requires cooperating with her ex-boyfriend, a man who clearly wants her back. With a massive bounty on her head for a murder she didn’t commit, Emily should hide out: instead, she strives to save those held hostage by cybernetic hearts that can be remotely turned off. Her heart replaced with cutting edge technology for free, Leah is grateful to the corporation: however, a chance encounter suggests not all their research subjects may be as well treated.
Rather than focus strongly on high-risk racing again, Brook devotes much of the book to the world around it. While this definitely avoids both the risks of sameness and rampant threat escalation that can plague series with a single defining feature, readers hoping for dramatic cybersport action might be disappointed.
However, this novel firmly remains as the border between human and cutting-edge technology that underlay the cybersports of the previous volumes. While it does display the flashy upgrades and flying cars of classic cyberpunk, the core of this book are Brook’s theories of how humans are likely to react to new technologies and in general; while rarely—if ever—overt, these provide consistency to both events and future innovations that will enhance realism even for those readers seeking cyberpunk action rather than deeper social commentary.
And this book is not lacking in action. Even those viewpoint characters who do not start the book on the run or otherwise in danger swiftly encounter risky choices that their characters will not let them ignore.
With the action taking place from the viewpoints of the poor or marginalised, this volume takes the reader deeper into the grimy underbelly of Brook’s future dystopia. Those scenes that do occur in the polished corporate world provide a contrast, casting the rest of the world in darker shade, yet possess a brittleness that leaves them feeling just as grimy beneath the opulent cleanliness.
The ongoing romance plot between Kai and Emily centres around the classic conflict between allowing one’s beloved agency and wanting them to be safe: thus, while Kai agrees with Emily that stopping people being held to ransom by their cyberhearts is a good goal, there is constant friction over whether she should be the one to do it. Brook ramps this up by having the man helping the two of them hide from the authorities be Emily’s ex, leading to both misunderstandings and misrepresentation of Kai’s actions.
In parallel, Leah develops feelings for someone who avoids her in order to keep her safe. As well as adding character and complexity to Leah’s arc, this semi-mirrors Kai and Emily’s dilemma, providing a new perspective on the underlying question and thus removing the sense that there is a single right answer that either couple is failing to see.
While the immediate issues facing the protagonists are resolved by the end, major arcs left over from previous volumes remain. As such, the end of this novel has a noticeable feel of being partway through a series.
Kai remains a sympathetic protagonist, driven by good intentions but imperfect enough that he sometimes reacts poorly due to emotion or lack of understanding. Emily is similarly neither a saint, a monster, nor an unmitigated fool.
Leah provides an equally sympathetic yet rather different perspective. With cyberware granting her, literally, a life, her arc highlights the good that advanced technologies can do and suggests that—while extortion is wrong—gratitude of some kind is due. While some readers might find the speed at which Leah falls in love overly quick, others will find it not utterly implausible for someone devouring life after years of being barely able to leave her bed.
Lee, the fourth viewpoint, is a reporter who was fired for his part in the events of the previous volume. Although Brook does provide an engaging personal arc around seeking meaning and stability, some readers might feel—appropriately enough for a journalist—that many of his scenes provide context to the stories of the others more than advancing his own.
The supporting cast are realistically complex, displaying conflicting drives and unclear motivations.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking fast-paced yet thoughtful cyberpunk that does not rely on hacking.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
November 2, 2020
This was a fun way to return to the awesome world of the Sand Runner that has never left my mind since discovering the first book in this series years ago. Some intriguing plot twists and even conclusions provide a very satisfactory wrap up of some plot lines, and, of course, the imagination sparked at what might happen next. Nicely done!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews